STRIKERS READY FOR DECIDER
THEY are MA Olympic’s one-two punch up front that are set to shock the system at Football Queensland North.
Strikers Monika Anderson and Molly Abbot have a sixth sense for finding the back of the net and will be crucial if they are to bring down Premier League giants Brothers in next weekend’s grand final.
Anderson scored two goals, while Abbot’s first touch after coming on in extra time produced the final nail in the coffin of Warriors in the preliminary final on Saturday.
The pair were crucial in seeing the Mundingburra side home after Warriors had scored an equaliser in the dying minutes to force the game into 30 minutes of extra time. Warriors goalkeeper Elli Chappel did all she could to keep the green machine in the game with several top-shelf saves but in the end it wasn’t enough, with an Anderson penalty sealing the 3-1 result.
“It is a credit to Warriors, they never stopped coming. But the girls dug deep, 120 minutes is a big shift and they all worked hard for each other,” Olympic coach Michael Brooks said.
“We knew they would come out really hard (in extra time), and we lost a little momentum but a couple of changes on the subs front helped. Molly Abbot came in and got on the end of the cross that put us ahead.
“She has it in her, she just knows where to be. She has that striker’s instinct of being in the right place at the right time. It is one of those things you can’t teach.
“She knows how to find the net. In reserve grade she has scored 38 goals. She knows how to find the net and thankfully she did it for us tonight.
“It is the same for Monika. Once they are through, most times it is almost certainly a goal.”
Brooks said it would be crucial to get his side back to work this week ahead of a tough grand final.
Olympic shocked Brothers in last year’s decider, but Brooks said it would not be an easy feat this time around.
MA OLYMPIC 3 (M Anderson 2, M Abbot goals) def WARRIORS 1 (E Caspanello)